KRepton User Manual

KRepton is an implementation of the classic Repton 3 game, which was originally produced for the BBC Micro and was the third hit Repton game for Superior Software.

It was originally written by Sandro Sigala for Linux using the SVGAlib library, and then rewritten entirely using the QT and KDE libraries for release 1.0 of KDE.

KRepton was converted to KDE 3 and this version is currently maintained by Jonathan Marten.

Sandro is continuing to maintain Repton as FX-Repton, using the portable Fox Toolkit. So if you want to run the game on Windows(TM), or any other system that doesn't have KDE, then get this version.

How to Play

The only keys you need to use to play the game are the four arrow keys. The objective is to move Repton around to collect all of the diamonds on each level, and then get the bomb before time runs out.

Some diamonds are initially visible, and they can be collected easily. Some others may be concealed in strongboxes; somewhere on the level will be a key which can be taken to open the strongboxes.

There may be wandering spirits on the level, either free or initially confined in an enclosed space. They move around always following the wall or any other solid object to their left; you should attempt to lead them to a cage where they will get trapped and change into a diamond, which you can then collect. You may need to clear passages or openings, or block others, by dropping or pushing rocks, but be careful to leave yourself a free path to reach the rest of the level!

Monster eggs will hatch if they fall, and the monster will pursue you remorselessly. Kill the monster by pushing or dropping a rock onto it.

Watch out for replicating plants: these spread slowly through any open space and can trap you. Stop the plants spreading by enclosing them with rocks.

Search for and collect a golden crown to earn a further points bonus.

Some levels may have a short time limit, but if you are lucky there will be some time bonus objects which you can collect to gain more time. You can pause the action at any time using the P key or by selecting Pause from the Game menu.

You will die if you touch a spirit, monster, plant or skull, if a rock or egg falls on you, or if time runs out. If you get stuck, then you may commit suicide using the Escape key or by selecting Suicide from the Game menu.

In episodes other than Prelude, Toccata and Finale, the objects may change. Their use and the objectives are exactly the same. Take care, in some episodes the objects may not be what they seem!

Episodes and Levels

To select an episode, use Select Game from the File menu and choose the episode that you wish to play. To start at the beginning of the first level, select Start at first level from the Game menu.

You start the game with three lives. If you are killed or commit suicide, and you have some lives remaining, you may restart at the same location where you last entered the level or passed through a transporter. Unfortunately there may now be no exit from here, so take care not to get killed at all costs. If it is impossible to continue then you will have to abandon the game, losing all your remaining lives.

When you have successfully completed a level, you will be given a password for the next. You can restart the episode from that level, at another time, by selecting Restart at level from the Game menu and entering the same password.

If you lose all of your lives or have to abandon the game, you may start again at the beginning of the last level you played by selecting Restart last level from the Game menu.

For additional variety (or simply to make some levels playable - very useful with Future or OAP, for example!), you may play the levels from one game using the graphics from another. First select the game episode, then select Change Sprites from the Settings menu and choose the level from which you want to take the graphics. If you want to save a copy of the original episode with the new graphics, use Save As as described below.

Editing and Files

An editor to allow episodes, maps and graphics to be created and changed is now integrated into the application. To edit an episode, first load it as if you were intending to play the game and then select Game Editor from the Editor menu. The editor window will open showing the general episode information.

See the editor documentation for more detailed information on editing the levels, maps and graphics.

If you have made changes in the editor, you may immediately start playing the modified episode using any of the game options as above. There is no need to save the episode first. If it is not possible to play the episode in its current state (for example, some essential objects are missing from any level) you will be informed of this and the game will not start.

To permanently save the edited episode, use either Save or Save As from the File menu. You cannot directly modify the original episodes distributed with the KRepton package, as they are installed in the global read-only directory $KDEDIR/share/apps/krepton/episodes. So if you want to modify one of these original episodes, use Save As and enter a new name for the episode. It will be stored in your personal directory $KDEHOME/share/apps/krepton/episodes. If you have loaded a personal episode that you have already copied or edited, use Save to save it directly back to that location.

To delete an edited personal episode that you no longer require, select Remove from the File menu and select the episode to be removed. You will only be able to select your own personal episodes in this list; the original distributed episodes cannot be deleted.

Game Settings

You can select the size of the sprites in the game display by choosing the required Display Size from the Settings menu. For a change to this setting to take effect, you must exit the KRepton application and restart it. Half Size Normal Size Double Size
Note that selecting anything other than Normal here may result in some delay when loading episodes or leaving the editor (especially if you have a slow processor). The sprites are scaled at this stage to improve display performance when playing the game.

The Sounds option in the same menu controls whether sounds are played when something happens in the game.

See the editor documentation for information on the settings used by the editor.

Sources and Links

You can find KRepton for KDE 3 at www.keelhaul.demon.co.uk, along with some other software written by me. It may also be available on kde-apps.org and other KDE download sites.

The current version of FX-Repton, and earlier versions of KRepton, can be found on Sandro Sigala's site at www.sigala.it, along with other software.

For more Repton information and downloads, including games and emulators for many other platforms, visit the Repton Appreciation Society site.

Repton will soon live again (on the PC), produced by Superior Interactive; the name may sound familiar... You can also play Repton on Java-enabled mobile phones and some PDAs, courtesy of Masabi.

Did you ever wonder about the origins or inspiration of the original Repton game? Whatever the source of that inspiration, this probably wasn't it :-)

License

Copyright (c) 1998 Sandro Sigala <sandro@sigala.it>
Copyright (c) 2003 Jonathan Marten <jjm@keelhaul.demon.co.uk>

KRepton 3.0 and later versions are released under the GPL; I have obtained the original author's permission for this license change.

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.

It is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with this program; see the file COPYING for further details.
If not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place -
Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
Sandro's original version 1.0 was released under a license as follows:
I release it under an open source code license. If you like this
program, send me a postcard from your hometown :-).

        Sandro Sigala
        Viale De Gasperi, 8
        25041 Darfo Boario Terme
        Brescia, Italy

Credits